The number of volumes of manga that publishers are planning to release in 2009 is down nearly 10% from the number actually released in 2008 according to a survey conducted by ICv2 for the ICv2 Guide #62--Anime and Manga.In the ICv2 manga survey at the end of 2007 publishers indicated that they planned to publish 1,731 volumes of manga, an 18% increase over the 1,468 volumes released in 2006, but the actual number of manga released in 2008 appears to be around 1,356 as publishers cut titles during the second half of the year.The total from ICv2’s 2009 Manga Survey indicates that publishers are planning to release 1,224.

After a solid first three quarters of 2008, independent retailers report that sales of manga slowed during the fourth quarter, and the major book chains also cut their graphic novel and manga orders for Q4 (see “Bookstores Feel the Pain”).Declining sales have put pressure on publishers that has manifested itself in layoffs at some publishers (see “Tokyopop Says Worst Retailing Environment”) and the decision to shut down Broccoli Books (see “Broccoli Books Shuts Down”).

The North American anime market has been suffering for several years now, and attrition has reduced the number of players.In the new Guide, ICv2 analyzes both the positive (the strength of the remaining players, the lowering of licensing fees and a reduction in what was, given the size of the market, a surfeit of releases) and the negative (continued high levels of illegal downloading, a shrinking anime footprint on American TV, the move away from packaged media toward Internet distribution) trends affecting the American anime industry.